Dart with longitudinally adjustable vanes

ABSTRACT

A dart construction comprising a pointed front portion having a shaft threadedly secured thereto and extending rearwardly therefrom. A vane assembly is slidably received on the shaft and is held in any given position by a pair of threaded collars. The shaft is threaded to allow longitudinal movement of the collars, but the rearmost section of the shaft is left unthreaded so the collars cannot be removed from that end of the shaft.

United States Patent lnventor Bartolo Rizzo Providence, RI.

App]. No. 832,931

Filed June 13,1969

Patented Aug. 3, 1971 Assignee Hasbro Industries, Inc.

Pawtucket, liLll.

DART WITH LONGITUDINALILY ADJUSTABLE VANES 1 Claim, 3 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl i. 273/1065R,

Int. Cl A63!) 65/02 Field of Search 273/1065 R. l06.5 C

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,425,695 2/l969 Kestenbaum 273/1065 R FOREIGN PATENTS 445,590 1936 Great Britain 273/1065 R Primary Examiner-Anton O. Oechsle Assistant Examiner-Paul E Shapiro Attorney-Salter & Michaelson AIBSTRA'CT: A dart construction comprising a pointed front portion having a shaft threadedly secured thereto and extending rearwardly therefrom. A vane assembly is slidably received on the shaft and is held in any given position by a pair of threaded collars. The shaft is threaded to allow longitudinal movement of the collars, but the rearmost section of the shaft is left unthreaded so the collars cannot be removed from that end of the shaft.

Patented Aug. 3, 1971 3,596,9W

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INVEN'I'UR, Bartolo R uzz 0 Awg DART WITH LONGITUDINALLY ADJUSTABLE WANES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is traditional to construct a dart with a pointed front end, a shaft extending rearwardly therefrom, and vane means extending outwardly from said shaft. Where the dart is designed for indoor use, such as to be thrown against a wall surface, dart board or the like, the vanes are usually fixedly secured to the rearwardly extending shaft, it being understood that relative positioning of the vanes is of little consequence where the dart is designed for indoor use, since it is most usual where a dart is used indoors that it is thrown on a relatively straight and flat trajectory against a wall target. It has been found, however, that where a dart is designed for outdoor use, as in the case of the instant invention, a completely different situa tion exists. More specifically, the instant invention is concerned with a dart that is thrown through the air to a horizontally disposed ground target, the object being to impale the dart in the ground within a prescribed target. Darts of this type obviously have to be heavier and more rugged than indoor darts; and since outdoor darts of this type are thrown through a looping trajectory, the vanes have a much more pronounced flight significance than is true of the vanes provided on an indoor dart.

A dart of the general type embodied in the instant invention is illustrated in a prior U.S. patent but in this patented dart the means for mounting the vane assembly on the rearwardly extending shaft is more complex and expensive, and, in addition, the vane assembly is not readily adjustable with respect to the shaft on which it is mounted. Since the relative positioning of the vane assembly on the shaft has been found to have a pronounced effect on the flight characteristics of the dart, the instant invention departs from the prior art primarily in that the vane assembly is not only adjustably mounted, but also in that the mounting means for the vane assembly is extremely simple and inexpensive to manufacture and assemble.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide a dart designed for outdoor use wherein the vane assembly is readily shiftable along the rearwardly extending shaft of the dart and may be readily locked thereon in any desired position of adjustment.

Another object is the provision of a dart construction that is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture and assemble but which nevertheless is rugged and durable in use.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings which illustrate the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the present invention:

FIG. l is a side elevational view of a dart construction constructed in accordance with the instant invention;

FIG. 2 is a top fragmentary plan view thereofon an enlarged scale; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on line 33 of FIG. 11.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. I, there is shown generally at a dart constructed in accordance with my invention. The dart it) comprises a weighted front portion i2 constructed of any suitable metallic material having a metallic point Mi extending therefrom. The point M may be assembled to portion 112. by any desirable means, such as by being a press fit within bore 16 in the latter. As will be seen most clearly in FIG. 3, the upper portion of bore lib is threaded as at 118 in order that it ma threadedly receive a rearwardly extending shaft 20, preferab y of metallic construction, which shaft is threaded as at 22 from its forward end 2 to a point 26 adjacent to but spaced from the rear extremity 2.53 of shaft 20. It will be understood that the shaft 20 is threadedly received within the threaded portion of bore 16 so as to securely assemble the shaft to the front portion 12.

A vane assembly 30, preferably constructed of molded plastic, comprises a tubular sleeve 32 having a plurality of integral vanes 34 extending outwardly therefrom. The tubular sleeve 32 is dimensioned so as to be snugly but slidably received over the threaded portion of shaft 20, and the vane assembly is locked thereon in any desired position of adjustment by means of a pair of threaded locking collars 36 threadedly received on the threaded portion 22 of shaft 20 and located adjacent opposite extremities of the sleeve 32, as clearly illustrated in FIGS. l and 3. It will therefore be seen that by threadedly moving the locking collars 36 along the threaded shaft 22, the relative position of the vane assembly 30 thereon may be readily and easily adjusted. In FIG. 1 the vane assembly is shown in one position of adjustment in full lines and in a second position of adjustment in broken lines.

Not only may the vane assembly 3 0 be longitudinally adjusted to any desired position on shaft 20 to vary the flight characteristics of dart l0, but, in addition, if the vane assembly should become damaged, or if for any other reason it is desired to substitute a different vane assembly on shaft 20, it is only necessary to threadedly detach shaft 20 from front portion 112 and then threadedly detach the forwardmost locking collar 36 from the shaft 20, the vane assembly may be easily slid off the shaft and a new vane assembly substituted therefor. The fact that the threads 22 terminate at point 26 on shaft 20 insures against inadvertent detachment of the vane assembly from the dart when the shaft 20 is threadedly assembled to front portion 12, because the rearwardmost locking collar 36 can only move rearwardly as far as the point 26, and then no farther.

The locking collars 36 may be knurled as at 33 to facilitate grasping thereof, and the rearward end 23 of shaft 20 is preferably beveled, as at $0, to eliminate unnecessary sharp comers.

While there is shown and described herein certain specific structure embodying the invention, it will be manifest to those skilled in the art that various modifications and rearrangements of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventive concept and that the same is not limited to the particular forms herein shown and described.

What I claim is:

1. A dart comprising a pointed front portion having a threaded bore therein, a threaded shaft threadedly engaged in said bore and extending rearwardly from said front portion, a tubular sleeve slidably received on said shaft, said sleeve having a plurality of integral vanes extending outwardly therefrom, a pair of spaced locking members threadedly received by said shaft, said members being mounted on said shaft adjacent opposite extremities of said sleeve in order to maintain said sleeve against longitudinal movement on said Shaft and in any desired position of longitudinal adjustment with respect thereto, the threaded portion of said shaft terminating at a point spaced from the rear end of said shaft whereby the locking member adjacent the rear end of the shaft cannot be disengaged from the shaft at said rear end. 

1. A dart comprising a pointed front portion having a threaded bore therein, a threaded shaft threadedly engaged in said bore and extending rearwardly from said front portion, a tubular sleeve slidably received on said shaft, said sleeve having a plurality of integral vanes extending outwardly therefrom, a pair of spaced locking members threadedly received by said shaft, said members being mounted on said shaft adjacent opposite extremities of said sleeve in order to maintain said sleeve against longitudinal movement on said shaft and in any desired position of longitudinal adjustment with respect thereto, the threaded portion of said shaft terminating at a point spaced from the rear End of said shaft whereby the locking member adjacent the rear end of the shaft cannot be disengaged from the shaft at said rear end. 